Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Tan Yanchu

Before dusk, a message came from the Emperor’s court: the Emperor would be spending the night at the Qingyu Pavilion.

After hearing the news, Lu Cairen pouted but didn’t say anything. Given that Su Meiren had been injured in front of the palace that day, it was unlikely that the Emperor hadn’t received the news. If the Emperor didn’t care, Su Meiren’s situation would probably become difficult.

But no one expected that Su Meiren would spend the next three nights with the Emperor. Yun Si saw Lu Cairen becoming increasingly agitated day by day.

During the morning court, Su Meiren remained calm, as if she had forgotten how Yang Jieyu had treated her the day before. Seeing this, Yang Jieyu gradually didn’t take Su Meiren seriously anymore. If Su Meiren didn’t show any temper, what was there to fear?

Two days later, they went to the palace again to pay their respects.

Today, Su Meiren wore a light green palace dress, and a white jade hairpin on her head complemented her appearance perfectly. After the morning court, Lu Cairen led Yun Si back to the palace, but as soon as they reached the Imperial Garden, they heard a commotion.

It was Su Meiren and Yang Jieyu again.

But this time, the situation was reversed. Yang Jieyu’s maidservant, Ya Ling, was pushed to the ground, falling onto a flower bed. Lu Cairen’s eyes lit up, and her face showed that she wanted to go and see what was happening. Yun Si couldn’t help but sigh.
Smart people would avoid trouble like this, but why was their mistress so eager to get involved?

Lu Cairen pulled Yun Si along, and Yun Si had no choice but to follow her.

Ya Ling was even more disheveled than Su Meiren had been the other day. Her silver hairpin had fallen to the ground, and her palms and knees were bleeding.
Yang Jieyu’s face was furious: “Su Meiren, you’re being presumptuous!”
Su Meiren bowed gracefully, her tone neither cold nor warm: “Yang Jieyu’s words are too harsh. Your servant is clumsy and careless, and it was just an accident.”

She returned Yang Jieyu’s words from a few days ago verbatim, without hiding her attitude of retaliation.

Yun Si was stunned, shocked for a moment: “Su Meiren is really bold.”

Yang Jieyu was one of the Emperor’s old servants, and she and Rong Zhaoyi were the two most favored concubines in the palace during the Emperor’s three-year reign. Even though Yang Jieyu had a bad temper, people had tolerated her. But Su Meiren dared to confront her directly?

Yun Si couldn’t help but glance at Su Meiren again and again. Three consecutive nights of serving the Emperor had indeed brought her favor, but Yang Jieyu had also experienced such glory before. Moreover, Yang Jieyu never let anyone off easily. Su Meiren had slapped her face in front of everyone, and Yang Jieyu wouldn’t let it go.

Lu Cairen heard Yun Si’s words and smiled, covering her mouth: “She’s always been like this.”

Yun Si’s eyes flashed with understanding. Lu Cairen and Su Meiren both came from the capital, and they might have known each other before entering the palace. Otherwise, Lu Cairen wouldn’t understand Su Meiren so well.

But Yun Si didn’t think Su Meiren would come out on top. Yang Jieyu was furious, her chest heaving with anger. Seeing Su Meiren’s cold expression, she suddenly laughed: “Guards, Su Meiren has committed a grave offense. Take her to my palace and teach her what respect means!”

Su Meiren didn’t expect Yang Jieyu to be so domineering. She frowned: “I’m afraid I won’t be able to comply.”

Yang Jieyu’s face turned cold, and she sneered: “You have no choice!”

Before the commotion in front of them subsided, Yun Si heard the sound of footsteps behind her, light but distinct. She turned her head in curiosity, and the next moment, a bright yellow figure appeared before her eyes. Yun Si was suddenly startled, and her face changed color. She gently tugged at her mistress’s sleeve, and just as she was about to bow and pay her respects, the person nodded slightly, interrupting her.

Yun Si fell silent, lowering her head in slight confusion.

A strand of black hair fell beside her cheek, accentuating the fairness of her complexion. She lowered her almond-shaped eyes, and from Tan Yuanchu’s angle, he could only see her tightly pursed lips. It seemed as though the fleeting glimpse of her beautiful face had been just an illusion.

Tan Yuanchu glanced at the maidservant, who was respectfully lowering her head, showing good sense. With just a hint from him, she understood his meaning and knew he didn’t want to draw attention.

Perhaps due to the initial shock of seeing him, the maidservant’s almond-shaped eyes widened slightly, betraying a hint of surprise. Tan Yuanchu casually withdrew his gaze. There were many beautiful women in the palace, and one could easily find two or three by throwing a stone. However, Tan Yuanchu had to admit that this maidservant’s beauty was exceptional.

As Tan Yuanchu looked away, he couldn’t help but frown:

“The Emperor?”

Lu Cairen was pulled by Yun Si and initially didn’t understand what was happening. When she turned around and saw the Emperor, she was stunned. The shocked words slipped out of her mouth, loud enough for everyone to hear. When she saw the Emperor’s frown, Lu Cairen finally realized what she had done. She quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth, looking at the Emperor with wide, soft eyes.

Yun Si was startled and saw that the other concubines were looking over. She could only pull Lu Cairen to pay their respects to the Emperor again. Her slender waist bent down, and she dared not look at the Emperor’s expression.

Lu Cairen wasn’t foolish. She realized that this was an opportunity to pay her respects and apologize. She quickly bowed: “Your servant pays her respects to the Emperor.”

There was no more conversation. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Tan Yuanchu couldn’t show any particular interest.
He nodded: “Everyone, rise.”

Tan Yuanchu passed by Lu Cairen and the others, looking towards the center of the Imperial Garden with an indifferent expression, as if he knew nothing: “What’s going on here?”

Among those present, Yang Jieyu had the highest status, and no one could speak before her. Yang Jieyu bowed gracefully, and when she stood up, her eyes were slightly red. She looked at the Emperor with a delicate and aggrieved expression: “Your Majesty, look at Su Meiren. She’s bullying me, and if Ya Ling hadn’t protected me, I would be the one lying there now!”

She was accustomed to twisting the truth, and everyone knew that Su Meiren had pushed Ya Ling, but she claimed that Ya Ling had been protecting her when she was hit.

The severity of the situation suddenly escalated.

Su Meiren frowned and retorted: “I only accidentally bumped into Yang Jieyu’s maidservant. When did I bully Yang Jieyu?”

Yang Jieyu ignored her and cried, wiping away her tears in front of the Emperor. It was undeniable that Yang Jieyu looked beautiful when she cried, with tears streaming down her face like pearls. She easily evoked sympathy, clinging to the Emperor’s sleeve and calling out to him in a pitiful tone: “Your Majesty…”

Tan Yuanchu lowered his gaze, looking at her and then at Su Meiren, his expression neutral. No one could tell what he was thinking.

Yun Si couldn’t help but shake her head. With one new favorite and one old lover, it was uncertain who the Emperor would choose.

Su Meiren naturally wouldn’t let Yang Jieyu condemn her without a fight. She slightly furrowed her brows and spoke softly: “I beg Your Majesty to investigate this matter fairly.”

She didn’t argue further or apologize, instead maintaining a detached demeanor.

The people around them couldn’t help but raise their eyebrows. Although Yang Jieyu might have exaggerated the situation, Su Meiren wasn’t entirely innocent. After all, she had ordered someone to push Ya Ling.

Lu Cairen was still shaken by the sudden turn of events, but she was curious about how the Emperor would handle it. She couldn’t read the Emperor’s expression and whispered to Yun Si: “How long has the Emperor been here?”

She wondered if he had seen the entire process.When she heard this, Yun Si shook her head. She had only noticed the Emperor’s presence later, and no one knew how much he had seen.

But Yun Si believed that the Emperor wasn’t foolish. Even if he hadn’t seen the entire scene, he likely knew the truth.

Tan Yuanchu looked at Su Meiren with interest. Su Meiren was elegant and refined, and everyone thought she came from a scholarly family. However, that wasn’t the case. She was from the Marquis Qiu Mansion, and Master Marquis Su was a military officer. It was unclear how she had developed her current demeanor.

Tan Yuanchu didn’t speak for a while, and Yang Jieyu was on the verge of tears, feeling embarrassed.
Finally, Tan Yuanchu made a move. He pulled out his sleeve from Yang Jieyu’s grasp and handed her a handkerchief, saying casually: “Su Meiren’s offense of disrespecting her superior will be punished with one month’s salary.”

One month’s salary was a light punishment, almost negligible compared to the value of a hairpin on Su Meiren’s head. This punishment was almost equivalent to no punishment at all.

Yang Jieyu was somewhat dissatisfied. She pouted, wanting to say something, but Tan Yuanchu raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. Yang Jieyu immediately fell silent, not daring to say another word.

Unlike Yang Jieyu, Su Meiren looked up in shock, her eyes still holding a hint of disbelief. After a moment, she lowered her gaze, looking defeated.

Although the punishment was light, it was clear that the Emperor was biased towards Yang Jieyu in this matter.

Yun Si lowered her eyes discreetly. If the Emperor hadn’t appeared today, Su Meiren would have been taken to the Changle Palace, and no one knew what would have happened then.

Yun Si wasn’t sure if this outcome was good or bad for Su Meiren.

The beautiful woman looked sorrowful, and anyone with a heart would feel sorry for her. However, Tan Yuanchu seemed oblivious, casually pushing Yang Jieyu’s hand away. He glanced at the crowd watching the drama unfold and raised an eyebrow: “Are you all here to wait for we¹ to escort you back to the palace?”

The crowd was startled, unsure if the Emperor’s words were spoken in anger or amusement. They didn’t dare respond and dispersed quickly.

Lu Cairen took the opportunity to slip away, standing far enough away to make her escape the fastest.
Tan Yuanchu turned around, but the pair of master and servant were no longer there. His emotions were calm, as if he had just glanced around casually.

However, Xu Shunfu had been following him for a long time and understood him well. He guessed that the Emperor was looking for the pair of master and servant. Xu Shunfu hadn’t seen Yun Si’s face, so he assumed the Emperor was looking for the concubine. He had seen the portraits of the new concubines and knew a lot about them. He said respectfully: “The one just now was Lu Cairen from the Heyi Hall.”

Tan Yuanchu didn’t look at him and didn’t seem to have heard his words.
He turned around and left.

As soon as they arrived at the Heyi Hall, Lu Cairen collapsed onto the soft couch. She cried out, covering her face with her hands, and said in despair: “It’s over! I’m doomed! The Emperor will hate me!”

The Emperor had clearly wanted to keep a low profile, but she had foolishly exposed him. The Emperor must think she’s stupid and wouldn’t visit her palace again.

Song Rong was confused and asked anxiously: “What happened, master?”

Lu Cairen told Song Rong about the incident in the Imperial Garden, her face filled with despair.

Song Rong’s face was filled with worry, and she didn’t dare say anything that might make her master worry more.

Yun Si couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Although she was also a bit anxious, she could only try to comfort her master: “Don’t worry, mistress. The Emperor won’t hold it against you.”

Lu Cairen looked unconvinced and slowly lowered her hands.

Yun Si’s words were meant to comfort her mistress, but no one expected them to come true so quickly.

In the evening, a message came from the Emperor’s court –
the Emperor would be spending the night at the Heyi Hall.

—